Infamous UC Davis 'Pepper Spray Cop' Finally Loses His Badge

Lieutenant John Pike, the infamous police officer who pepper sprayed seated student Occupy protesters at the UC Davis campus last November, has permanently turned in his badge, said the university’s spokesman Barry Shiller late Tuesday.

Shiller told the Sacramento Bee that Pike’s employment with the university terminated on July 31, 2012, but neither he nor university spokesperson Claudia Morain could reveal whether he was fired or quit due to the university's privacy guidelines.

Since the unreasonable attack on November 18, Pike and his supervisor, campus police chief Annette Spicuzza, collected their six-figure salaries on a paid administrative leave until Spicuzza resigned in April. The Bee reported that Pike’s 2010 salary was just over $110,000.

A 190-page April report by a University of Califorina task force said the incident was an “objectively unreasonable” use of force. It also accused Lt. Pike of misusing his high-pressure pepper spray canister, which was not only an unauthorized weapon under campus police guidelines, but was also “designed to be used at a distance of at least six feet.”

The disturbing video shows Pike spraying his high-pressure canister directly onto the protesters faces who were sitting in silence. Dozens of memes (see below) have been created since, as well as students and protesters nationwide demanding his resignation. “Justice has now been served,” said a UC Davis student.

According to the Bee, the Yolo County District Attorney’s office is investigating whether criminal charges should be filed.